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Author Archives: Danny Simpson

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The CEO Files: The Importance of Learning

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Learning is crucial to development

Throughout my career, I’ve prided myself on always being willing to listen and learn. Even as the CEO of MID Group I still strive to develop and grow myself, both personally and professionally, and learning is key to this. In my opinion, you won’t get anywhere in your career if you are unable to take on advice and new information. Learning opens up new opportunities, it changes the way you do certain things for the better and rapidly improves personal growth. I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without it.

 

MID will always be a promoter of apprenticeships and further training

 So, the main thing I wanted to talk about in this blog is how myself and MID Group will always be an advocate for apprenticeships with one of our current brilliant apprentices having just reached a year with the business. We currently have two apprentices working with us full-time at MID Group head office and we are proud to have several employees who have graduated through apprenticeship programmes over the years. I believe that apprenticeships are extremely important. It’s fantastic that through our business we are able to train apprentices and give them relevant on-the-job skills and experience whilst they are earning money.

 

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Around eighteen months ago I realised that what was lacking in MID Communications was someone dedicated to social media who would develop our online presence. Previously, myself along with several of my colleagues split the social media duties between us. Due to us all being busy in our own roles we couldn’t give too much attention to it. With the help of the wonderful Juice Academy, who provide a brilliant social media and digital marketing apprenticeship programme, we hired Jamie Kelly, our Social Media and Digital Marketing Coordinator, towards the end of last year.

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Fast forward and Jamie has now been with the business just over a year. In this time Jamie has developed massively and done a fantastic job managing all of our social media platforms, taking on even more channels with the expansion of MID Group. Last week I had the proud moment of watching Jamie interview Sam Jones, Managing Director of Tunafish Media, at a great event put on by the Juice Academy. It was amazing to see how Jamie has progressed and grown in the space of a year, becoming a much more confident and assertive young professional.

 

This is the power of apprenticeships, the power of training and learning. As mentioned, we have people who have graduated through apprenticeships and currently have pivotal roles in our business. I love to watch these people flourish and better themselves with the correct training and mindset. Hiring apprentices gives young people great opportunities, brings fresh ideas to your team and allows you to mould the shape of your future workforce.

 

I hope this blog has given some good insights into the benefits of learning, both as a young apprentice and an experienced, established professional. I also want it to make other businesses think about hiring an apprentice when they have future roles opening up.

 

Thanks for reading, until the next CEO Files…

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The CEO Files: Forever Manchester Ambassador

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Successful 2018 for our HR Director

Earlier this year I wrote a blog on talent spotting and the importance of surrounding yourself with good people, with the focus being on the wonderful Jenn Hulme becoming our first non-executive board member. I’ve now got an exciting update on her involvement with Forever Manchester.

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We’re now ten months down the line and Jenn is doing a magnificent job in her role as HR Director, looking after the development and wellbeing of our MID Commers as well as taking the Finance and stores performance arms of the business under her stewardship. It’s been a fantastic year for Jenn, also achieving Chartered Fellow status from the CIPD. She just doesn’t stop!

Forever Manchester Ambassador

At the start of this year, MID Communications became an official business partner for Forever Manchester, a fantastic charity that supports the community of Greater Manchester that we live and work in. We have enjoyed working with the guys over at Forever Manchester, supporting them at the fantastic events they put on such as their annual birthday party, where we’ll be sponsoring the photo booth in 2019.

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I’m now proud to say that Jenn Hulme has become an official Forever Manchester Ambassador. When MID Comms became a partner in January I asked Jenn to be the one who manages our relationship with the charity, bringing her care for people to the table. Having been born, raised and educated in Greater Manchester as well as working in this great region, she’s the perfect woman for the job.

Jenn said: “I love Manchester having made my life and brought my family up here. I think that being in the position I am in it’s so important to take the opportunity to give something back to the community. At MID Comms we always aim to work closely with local charities and initiatives. Manchester is a special city and I’m extremely proud to be an ambassador for Forever Manchester”

We look forward now to working even more with Forever Manchester in 2019 to support our local community. As Jenn mentioned, Manchester is a special place and I think that it’s our job to continue that legacy.

Thank you for reading this edition of The CEO Files, until next time…

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The CEO Files: Beginning of a New Blog Series

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The CEO Files, new bi-weekly blog talking all things MID Group

I’ve always loved writing blogs as it allows me to express all the information that’s going on in my head. It’s great to keep you all updated about what’s going on with myself and around the business. So, I’ve decided to start a bi-weekly blog series, The CEO Files, which I hope you’ll all enjoy reading and engage with us across our social media platforms.

 

Q3 update

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For the first CEO Files blog, I want to share with you some personal highlights I’ve had from the last quarter. As you’ve all probably heard, we recently announced the formation of MID Group, which MID Comms and our new brand, My Ideal Destination will fall under. It’s a very exciting time for the MID brand and I am proud to be at the helm steering the ship.

 

Fellowship status from Institute of Directors

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Many of you will know that I have three important words that I carry with me, on both my work and personal life, “Pride”, “Passion” and “Persistence”. I believe these words have been instrumental in getting me to the point I am at today, gaining my fellowship status from the Institute of Directors (IID). This was a big achievement both personally and professionally for me and it proves that hard work and determination pays off. I hope my achievement can inspire everyone in the MID Family to always strive for more.

 

Kellogg’s KED Talks – Being bold and brave

Sometimes you are offered opportunities you just can’t turn down. Last month I was given the chance to sit alongside Roger Stephenson OBE and Martin Sterling at the Kellogg’s KED Talks to discuss the topic of being bold and brave.

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It’s fantastic to pass on what I’ve learnt in my career journey to those who are at the beginning of theirs. It’s important to be bold and brave. Don’t be afraid to fail, failing is just part of the journey to success. If you don’t fail, then you’re not trying anything new or innovative. This comes back to those important three words pride, passion and persistence.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first instalment of The CEO Files and are ready for the next one. We’re heading into Q4 now and I’ll have lots of exciting updates for you coming in the near future.

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MID Group – Elevating Your Experiences

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Expanding the MID brand with the formation of MID Group

MID Communications has been our core business for the last 12 years trading as an independent franchise of O2 (Telefónica UK Limited). We have enjoyed many years of success and growth, from our first site Thornton-Cleveleys in 2006 to our seventeenth site O2 Buxton. Buxton joined the business in July 2017 and has just celebrated its first anniversary with MID. However, it is now time for expansion with MID Group.

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Whilst we continue to grow our footprint and business portfolio with MID Communications across the North-West, we have seen an opportunity and have the desire to expand and diversify into different industry sectors. The development of MID Group is part of our five-year growth plan.

 

What is MID Group?

MID Group is an umbrella corporation which MID Communications and all our other future ventures, such as My Ideal Destination, which you’ll learn more about soon, will trade under. Danny Simpson is keen to create an ecosystem for both customers and staff to operate and transact in while continuing to deliver great service to both its customers and people.

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This is a hugely exciting time which presents a fantastic opportunity for our team at MID as the business expands.

Danny Simpson had this to say “This is a fantastic and exciting time for our business to show growth to expand and diversify into new industry sectors. It will create more jobs and career opportunities in our growing group. We will continue to focus and build on our North-West relationships and look forward to expanding our presence and trade across the UK”

Our web page will give a more inclusive overview of our group and we look forward to seeing our customers, partners, friends and business acquaintances start to visit www.midgroupuk.com. You’ll be able to see all of our current brands and any future acquisitions through this brand new site.

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HR Director Jennifer Hulme is thrilled at the prospect of new job roles and openings becoming available “I am proud to be able to offer greater employment opportunities in the North West for ambitious and talented individuals. MID Group is delighted to have its roots in Manchester and I am passionate about making sure we offer exciting jobs locally, whilst ensuring the business continues to develop and engage our current teams so they in turn always operate with a forward-thinking, ambitious approach to their work”

So, please be sure to give our group site a visit to roam around to view our brands of present and future. We can’t wait to Let everyone have a look at our new brands and welcome you to MID Group properly. This is just the beginning of an exciting vision for the MID brand and we’re happy to let everyone be a part of it.

We Drive for Results – An Important Core Value

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Any good business should have a set of core values that it operates against – one of ours is that we always drive for results

When we think and talk about this core value, I really try and look for 5 key rules and principles in people, to tell me does a person or team really drive for results. Do they do it? Can they do it? Do they want to do it?

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Advice on how best to drive for results

I have put my top 5 points below, for you to have a read through to see if they help yourself, your team or your business drive for results.

Let’s dive straight in and provoke some thought and reflection for you…

1.It is important to understand firstly what the result or end goal is that you want and think about a time scale of how long this will take to achieve.

2.Skills gaps. Are there any skill gaps in the person or team? If there is how do you fill them? Where can you fill them? Do they need filling? Have you got the right people doing the right roles? It’s so important to make sure you have the right people surrounding you. They say you are an average of the 5 people you spend the most time with so choose these 5 very carefully and wisely.

3.Do you or the team have the right mindset? Can you create positive energy when needed? Mindset and motivation have played a huge part in my career. Make yourself impossible to ignore, with great tenacity and a strong work ethic. Are you fuelling positive energy? Can you do it with a smile on your face? After all, a smile is infectious and spreads positivity across your team.

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4.Attitude & motivation. You need to motivate yourself before you can motivate others. Don’t wait to be motivated. You will fail whilst driving for results. However, failure isn’t always a bad thing. Make sure you learn from it, reflect on what you can do differently and be resilient in everything you do.

Can you keep up that drive for results? Don’t beat yourself up, give yourself a break from time to time and focus on progress, not perfection. Perfection is unattainable. Nothing is ever perfect, and anything can always be better. We always need to keep working hard and maintain high standards.

5.Remember driving for results, whatever they may be, is down to you, not anyone else. It’s up to you.

I call this the man in the mirror moment. The man in the mirror will always and should always be your biggest competitor. If you are better today than yesterday, then you are growing and delivering. Spend all your time and energy doing things that contribute to the goal, don’t get too distracted keep focus and constantly drive for results.

So, I hope this helps and remember this is only my opinion. My advice might not work for all of you. But, as I said at the start I hope there’s something in every blog I do that may resonate with you and make a difference, however big or small.

Until next time, keep driving for those results…

DS

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